


Night Light

by Mother_of_Pearl



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Adoption, And so is Steve, Arc Reactor, Becoming Spiderman, Becoming a family, Cuddling & Snuggling, Daddy!Steve, Domestic Avengers, Domestic Fluff, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Feels, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Hurt Tony Stark, Light Angst, M/M, Nightmares, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter is Tony's and Steve's adpotive child, Precious Peter Parker, Stony - Freeform, Stony Freeform, Superfamily, Superfamily (Marvel), Superhusbands, Superhusbands (Marvel), Tony is a great father, daddy!Tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2019-10-08 20:26:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17393147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mother_of_Pearl/pseuds/Mother_of_Pearl
Summary: "It had taken him 72h awake, six litres coffee, five bottles of whiskey, three pointless discussions with Pepper, two boxes of old photographs and diaries of his mother and one fussing, overprotective husband to make up his mind. His decision was clear. They would become parents."Steve and Tony are married. At their second wedding anniversary they adopt the shy, five year old Peter. Will they be able to become a real family over the years?Basically, a short story about Peter crawling into Steve's and Tony's bed at night. Fluff, family feels and more fluff.





	1. Daddy

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, thanks for stumbling over my story.  
> This is probably nothing special, but I was in the mood for fluff and family bonding.  
> I hope you enjoy reading just as much as I enjoyed writing this.  
> Maybe I'll add another chapter if I feel like it. If you have any ideas or suggestions, just leave a comment! I really do appreciate it! <3
> 
> English is not my mother language, so please excuse typos!  
> Not beta'ed.

Blinking into the darkness of the night, the brown haired man slowly opened his heavy lidded eyes. The silent, careful shifting of his husband had woken him.  
Steve's strong arm now laid peacefully and protective over Tony's lean figure, holding him close. Tony felt the small puffs of breath over the crown of his hair, snuggling his face deeper into the curve of the blond's neck. A content hum escaped his throat as he inhaled Steve's unique scent, pressed chest to chest, bare skin on skin. At the edge of falling asleep again he felt the other man carefully lift his arm to stroke his dark wild strands. Tony leaned into the loving touch.

"What's wrong, love? Can't sleep?" He asked into the shadows. A deep rumble answered him, Steve's voice just as low and tired as his own.

"Just a bit restless, so much happened today. Go back to sleep, love." The soldier placed a small kiss on his hair.

"Me too." Tony admitted. "Today's our anniversary and we became parents. And I had a hot make out session with my husband."

A smug grin appeared on Tony's face and he felt his husband tense around him. Tony could literally feel the blush that crept onto Steve's high cheekbones as he pulled him closer to his chest. The hard edge of the arc reactor dug into his skin and the blue glow was buried between them.

"Oh god, Howard would probably haunt me if he knew that I was married to his son." He mumbled into the cushions.

"Oh rest assured, my lovely husband, I'll make sure to tell him once I'll meet him again in hell." A cheeky laughter escaped him as he slung his arms around the bigger man's slim waist.

"You're not allowed to go to hell before me." Steve dead panned, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"As if you'd go to hell, humanity's perfection."

With giggling, wiggling and cuddling their sweet debate was swallowed by slow kisses in the backs of their throats. In his mind, Tony cursed the sweatpants they both wore, which hindered him to feel every inch of Steve's body. Wandering fingers, and curious lips seeking each other's warmth were suddenly interrupted by silently tapping footsteps.

Steve shifted in Tony's arms and both men watched the door as the knob slowly turned, to reveal a mop of dark brown locks and big, chocolate coloured eyes, filled with tears. The small frame of Steve's and Tony's adoptive son stood in the doorway clutching his brand new Hulk themed pyjamas and a sniffle could be heard as the boy looked down onto his bare feet.

Steve rose immediately, kneeling down in front of the small body, his crystal blue eyes fixated on his son's face. Tony followed him instantly, bending down to his small family and laid his hands on both their shoulders. The blue glow emitting from his chest illuminated the scenery.

 

It was their first night together. Steve, his husband for two years now, and Tony himself had just adopted the adorable little boy, from an orphanage in Queens. Half a year ago, Steve had mentioned his wish to be a father. The genius had been sceptical about whether he was suited for parenting. Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, being the all American hero, personification of all good in the world, maybe even secretly a saint, would probably be the most perfect choice for being a parent that could be made. Tony Stark, Iron Man, on the opposite hand was, at best, the worst case scenario of a father. Ex-weapons engineer, cynical billionaire with more brains than did him good.

After hours, days, weeks of talking and discussing mainly with Steve and sometimes his team, he fianlly locked himself in his workshop. He needed to think.

It had taken him 72h awake, six litres coffee, five bottles of whiskey (that were hidden for emergencies, he had stopped drinking right before he got together with Steve), three pointless discussions with Pepper over the phone, two boxes of old photographs and diaries of his mother (accompanied by lonely tears, which he'll deny til death) and one fussing, overprotective husband to make up his mind. And his decision was clear. They would become parents.

Tony would do everything his father didn't do with him and nothing his father did to him. He'd spent time with their child, shower it with affection and love, go to the amusement park, hell, he'd even watch cheesy Disney movies and make dinosaur shaped pancakes. He promised himself to never neglect their future child, never to slap it, never yell at it, never to force their child into a future it didn't want.  
After his 72h session in the workshop he carefully exited his lab like a hermit crab his seashell and pushed his newest invention, that had been created by his overtired brain, in Bruce's arms (A laser powered toaster that at the same time mixed drinks and reported the daily news of a local radio station somewhere in the south of Italy) and searched the whole tower for his husband. The next morning the two of them went straight to various orphanages around the city of New York. The orphanage in Queens was probably the shabbiest they visited. The women in charge of the children had been nice but looked tired and older than they probably were. After various interviews with psychologists, information meetings with specialists and visiting the children, a letter reached them. Steve Rogers and Tony Stark would be the new parents of a five year old boy, named Peter Parker. Peter's parents had been experimental scientists, leaving their child behind with no relatives two years ago, when an experiment in their laboratory went horribly wrong. The pair had noticed the boy on their first visit in Queens. He was smaller and thinner than the other children, silently reading a book for children by himself in the corner of the loud and noisy room. Tony knew his husband too well. He felt his hand tighten around his own as soon as Steve had laid eyes on the lonely figure. The child had reminded Steve of himself all those centuries ago.

 

Now this shy little kid stood in front of his new fathers with red rimmed eyes, filled to the brim with tears. Fear clutched Tony's heart. What had happened? Did he already fail as a father on his first day? A worried expression appeared on his face and with furrowed brows he carefully wiped away the salty traces on flushed cheeks.

"Hey, Peter. What's wrong? Can't you sleep?" He forced his voice not to quiver as he spoke gently to the crying child. Steve on the other hand, knew instantly what was going on in his lover's head and placed a reassuring hand on his thigh. Peter swallowed hard and released his death grip on his pyjamas to jump into Steve's arms. Sobbing and shivering he pressed his face to Steve's broad chest. Slightly surprised, the blond hugged the boy tightly and scooped him up. He walked back to the edge of their bed and sat down, dragging Tony, clutching his hand, with him. They sat together on the mattress, silently granting Peter some minutes to calm down. Once his small body stopped shivering, Steve bend back to get a proper look at his son.

"What's wrong, Peter?" He repeated Tony's question, gently rubbing the boy's back. "Can't you sleep?"

Peter raised his head to look at the two men in front of him. His eyes stopped once he caught sight of Tony's glowing arc reactor as he saw it for the very first time, the blue glow shone brightly in his wet doe eyes. It took him a few heartbeats to finally respond to the question.

"I'm sorry." He started with his small voice. "I can't sleep. It's so d-dark, I-I ...” He sniffed, his brown eyes now locked with Steve's. Then he found his courage and confessed everything. “I'm afraid! I-it's so d-dark and I can't see anything! The other boys bullied me w-when I wanted to sleep and they w-were so mean. Please d-don't send me b-back… I-I don't want to go back there...”

Hiccuping, he hid his face again, pressed tightly to Steve's chest. A heartbeat of silence filled the room as Tony and Steve stared at the crying child with wide eyes. The dark haired man locked eyes with his husband and tried to ignore the stinging at the corner of his eyes, as he felt heat well up inside his chest. Slowly he reached out to the boy and gently petted his unruly locks that somehow resembled his own so much. He continued to stroke the child's head until big brown eyes peeked over Steve's broad shoulder towards him. Tony could not suppress the heart-warming smile that tugged at his lips.

“You can sleep here if that helps. It's already late, let's go to bed, okay Peter?”

Tony felt the warm gaze on his cheeks, that his husband had directed towards him.

Still hiccuping, Peter slowly let go of Steve's neck and crawled towards Tony. Sitting in his lap, he hesitated before he spoke to Tony with his small voice.

“Will… will this keep on shining? So it's not that dark?” He asked and touched the edge of the arc reactor carefully. It was warm beneath his fingertips and the blue glow was reflected in his eyes.

Tony blinked down on his son and suppressed a good natured snort. He tightly hugged the boy to his chest and smiled in his hair.

“Yes, of course it will continue to shine.” With his son in his arms he fell back onto the bed, wiggling underneath the sheets. Steve followed them, carefully laying down to join his family. With Peter sandwiched between the pair, the silence of the night came back.

“Seems like you're now a father and a night light, babe.” Steve smirked as he tucked them to bed.

“Oh, shut up, you wonderful husband of mine.” Tony silently laughed.

A few heartbeats passed, filled only with loving gazes and Peter's occasional hiccups.

“Good night, Peter. Sleep well.” Steve murmured, the sleepiness now audible in his soft voice.

“Good night, Papa. Good night, Daddy.” He whispered, almost sleeping by now.

A small chuckle escaped Tony as Peter's hiccuping didn't fade when he fell asleep. His little hand fell to the cushions, as his fathers shifted around him to look in each others eyes again. If this was what having a family felt like, then Tony wouldn't exchange it for anything in the world, he thought, as the light of his arc reactor illuminated Steve's and Peter's peaceful faces. Steve's blue eyes fell shut after a short while. He had his strong arm protective around his small world, keeping his family close to him.

Carefully Tony lifted his hand from underneath the blanket and touched Steve's beautiful lips. Fast asleep apparently, he didn't respond.

“I love you, Steve.” He whispered, his hand rested on his husband's face. “You're a Papa now.”

“I love you too.” Came the response, just as quiet and Tony felt Steve's hand caressing his back. “And you're now a Daddy.”


	2. Papa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ten year old Peter comes crawling in Tony's and Steve's bed. But there's only Steve to be found...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know.... I said, this would stay a one shot, but I was in the mood to continue.  
> Hope you like it nevertheless. <3

The dark ceiling stared blankly back at Steve as he laid on his back, aching tension in his shoulders and their bedsheets were loosely draped over his legs. The silence of the night would have been deafening if not for the heavy rain and the storm that raged outside, mirroring his emotions. After minutes that felt like hours, he rolled over onto his stomach, burying his face in the cold cushions on Tony's side of their double bed, inhaling the characteristic scent of his husband. Tony's natural scent, the lemon grass of his shampoo and a faint touch of engine oil.

 

Absentmindedly his fingers searched for the smaller man's warmth in the sheets, retreating defeated as they felt only emptiness. A long shuddering breath escaped Steve.

 

Six days. It had been six long days. Six lonely days, filled with desperation, prayers, tears, anxiety and waiting. But Tony wouldn't open his eyes…

 

Almost a week ago the Avengers were called to assemble. Looking back, it was an average attacking pseudo super-villain with his hilarious pigeon shaped robots. The fight had been over in just a few minutes, Steve didn't even bother to remember the name of the guy as he had smashed the last robot in his way, when suddenly a call came over comm. JARVIS' neutral British voice had reached through to the team instead of Tony's sarcastic remark about the easy outcome of the fight. Apparently Tony, that god-damn idiot, had opened up his armour after the fight to calm down and rescue a scared child, that had been separated from his mother in the fighting and was now hiding in an abandoned building. The movement of the suit had apparently activated the self destruction of a nearby defeated robot. Without hesitation and within a split second Tony had closed the Iron Man suit around the child, shielding it inside from the explosion. Jumping behind the suit, he had apparently tried to protect himself, so JARVIS explained. Steve, Natascha and Clint had been standing on the street, surrounded by destruction, and had been forced to watch, as the outer wall of the ten store building had blown up.

What had happened afterwards was nothing more than a blurry mess in Steve's memory. He remembered screaming, the roaring Hulk, Thor's thunder echoing around them and digging through bricks and metal scraps, until the motionless body of his husband had been laying in his arms. Thanks to JARVIS' instant reaction, a SHIELD emergency team had arrived only a few seconds later. Thor and Clint had to hold Steve back so he would let go of Tony's injured figure, so that the doctors could take care of Tony's wounds. All of his serum enhanced strength had seemed to leave the soldiers muscles and he had slumped down to his knees in front of the lifeless Iron Man suit. His heartbeat had seemed to stop and the blood in his veins had frozen. Shivering, unable to speak he had reached out to touch the hole in the gold and red chest-plate, were normally the arc reactor would glow, only to stop dead in his tracks as he had caught sight of the treacherous, red that covered his hands and the front of his suit. It was blood. Tony's blood.

 

Steve bit back a sob. Beneath his fingertips he could still feel the warmth of Tony's blood as it had soaked his suit. He shifted until he was laying on his side, facing his husband's side of their bed. Angrily he scrubbed his hands over his face to get rid of those depressing thoughts and felt the tears that had appeared in the corners of his sleep-deprived, slightly bloodshot eyes. He couldn't sleep. Ever since the doctors had informed him that they had to put Tony in an artificial coma right after the surgery, he couldn't find rest at night. With Tony gone, everything in their home seemed dark and lonely. The reassuring blue glow of the arc reactor, that shone so reliable, indicating that Tony was alive and here with him, was absent. He found himself awake, missing the light, strolling through the penthouse, imagining Tony entering, cured and happy, the second his blue eyes met the door. Every time he would turn around, just to find nothing. No one stood in the frame. Only the gaping silence of the penthouse's hallways was to be found. Every day, every night, every hour, every second, Steve thought about his husband. He missed every little detail about Tony. His messy shirts on the bathroom floor, the always present scent of fresh coffee, the sarcastic remarks whenever Steve tried to watch a movie, heaven, even Tony's complaining whenever Steve had to drag him out of the workshop after a 38h session with no breaks or food. Whenever that adorable huff would escape his “Grumpy Cat” husband, Steve would take Tony's expressive face in his strong but gentle hands and kiss every inch of it, until the smaller man turned into a giggling, lovestruck teenage girl and let himself be carried to the bedroom for a good nights rest. And sometimes a bit more.

 

As hard as Tony's absence was on Steve, it seemed to be even harder on Peter. Steve's return to their home after being at the hospital for 3h had probably been the hardest mission he ever had to accomplish.

The memory of Peter's expecting doe eyes about seeing his parents after a successful battle and the desperate cries and never-ending tears that still echoed in Steve's ears when he told Peter about Tony's whereabouts, made his heart break a little bit, every time it crossed his mind. And that was more often than not.

 

Almost drifting off to sleep, Steve was suddenly wide awake as his enhanced senses caught the silent footsteps of his ten year old son on the other side of the bedroom door. He quietly cleared his throat and wiped away the salty trails on his cheeks as he sat up on the mattress, waiting for his son to make up his mind and enter. Big brown eyes, filled to the brim with tears found his own crystal blue's and without a word needed between father and son, Peter ran towards Steve's side of the bed, dragging his favourite Iron Man plush toy with him. Steve reached out for him with his strong arms, lifting him up and hugging Peter tightly to his broad chest, once he was seated on Steve's lap. Immediately he felt the small drops on his shoulder, the shuddering body of his child clinging to him like a rescue rope.

 

The blond soldier had to gather every bit of sturdiness he had, to stay composed in front of their kid. A few minutes passed, while Steve rubbed circles over Peter's small back, until the boy found his voice again. Shifting in his Papa's embrace, he pulled back slightly to look up at Steve from beneath his wet lashes and furrowed brows.

 

“Papa, I-i can't sleep. Will D-daddy come back home? He… He has to wake up. I miss him so much...” Peter's voice became shaky and Steve had to concentrate, not to miss something from between the sobs that threatened to swallow the boy's words.

 

Taking a deep breath he steeled himself mentally before answering.

“I miss Daddy too, Peter. He will definitely wake up, you'll see. He has to. I forbade him not to wake up.” Steve forced himself to smile soothing at the grade schooler. “And I promised him, to go to Dunkin' Donuts with him. And you know your Daddy: He loves donuts just as much as he loves coffee. So he will definitely wake up and go there with us.”

 

Peter's big brown eyes looked at him, processing what his father just said. “Can I come with you? I also like donuts. And when Daddy goes there, then I have to go there too!” Averting his eyes, Peter started to play with the hem of his Pokémon pyjamas as he squinted his tired eyes and rubbed his too long sleeve over his face. Instead of the crying, a stubborn expression appeared on his cute face. Steve couldn't suppress the fond chuckle that escaped him. Peter was a perfect copy of his husband, when he put on his best pout. It was almost scary how much the boy resembled his father in looks and attitude.

 

“Of course, baby. We would never dare to not take you with us. We're a family and you are part of this family. That's what the word family means. That we'll always be together.” He whispered to his son, pressing a kiss to the boy's forehead. He smiled into the brown locks, that were as unruly as ever. “It's really late, Peter. Let's go to bed and tomorrow you can think about which kind of donut you want to eat with Daddy, okay?”

 

Silence answered him. Peter hugged his Iron Man plush toy tightly to his small chest and chewed on his bottom lip. Another feature he had picked up from Tony. Clinging to Steve's sleep shirt he fidgeted for a few more seconds before he focused on his fathers face.

 

“Papa? Can I sleep here with you, Papa?” Peter almost whispered. “I can't sleep alone. It's so dark, when Daddy's not home.”

 

Steve's heart ached. His son had just pointed out the fact why he himself couldn't sleep either. Taking a deep breath he petted Peter's hair and forced himself to smile.

 

“Of course, baby. You want to sleep in the middle, like when you were little?” He asked him, already knowing the answer would be yes.

 

“Yes! Thank you, Papa!” Peter exclaimed, a wide smile blooming on his face. Still hugging his plush toy, he let the strong figure of his father pull him down under the sheets of their bed. Once both of them were snuggled against each other, the small Iron Man between both of them, they listened together to the storm outside that still raged on.

 

Steve felt his son shift uneasy beside him. A lopsided smile appeared on his tired face. Slightly raising his face from the cushions he spoke to the ceiling.

“JARVIS? Can you please switch on the projection of the arc and dim the light of it a bit?”

 

“Certainly, Captain.” Came the immediate response.

 

A heartbeat later appeared the lifesized projection of the arc reactor over Tony's bedside table from Tony's tablet, glowing its characteristic blue, enlightening the scenery a bit and throwing soft shadows.

 

Steve never switched it on. It was a schematic of the reactor that kept his husband alive.

But usually he had the real deal right beside him and over the years the projection started to become strange to him. It felt as if the soldier would betray his husband, by using it to fall asleep, reassured by a replacement. But maybe, this was exactly what Peter needed right now.

 

He felt his son relaxing at the sight of the blue, as it had been his night light when he first came to his new parents' house. It only took Peter a few seconds to fall asleep in the loving embrace of his Papa's strong arms.

 

Steve pressed his lips onto the crown of his son's head. Finally the fatigue of the last days caught up to him and he felt his consciousness slip away.

“I love you, Peter. Sleep well.”

 

 

_Four days later, the sun had barely reached its zenith, a well-known and beloved certain genius, billionaire, husband and father carefully exited the elevator to find his two favourite boys napping cuddled together on their large couch in the open living room. And the warmest smile bloomed on his still tired face. Once the blonde soldier and the little bundle of energy would wake up, they would find their husband and father sleeping peaceful beside them, to finally complete their little world again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> English is not my mother language so pls excuse occuring typos...
> 
> Kudos and comments make my day, so thanks beforehand! <3


	3. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fifteen year old Peter has just become Spider-Man. Nightmares of the incident are keeping him awake at night. But his family will always be there for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally this was supposed to end with the second chapter. But somehow I had the urge to write another one. I hope enjoy it! <3

The rustling sheets sounded like whispering voices, every move felt too slow and too fast at the same time. The faint ticking of the retro styled clock on his night stand morphed into clanging convulsions, sending shivers down his body and filled his head with explosions. He heard the humming of the electricity within the walls and the air, felt his own sweat on his forehead, smelled the scent of the burgers they had eaten hours ago for dinner. His now sharpened inner clock told him that it was approaching 3am. Peter slowly opened his eyes and stared into the once complete darkness of the night. Now it was like someone had handed him a night sight device combined with a microscope. After a few heartbeats he closed his eyes again, exhaled and shifted until he was facing the wall to his left and desperately tried to think of nothing but the bliss it would be able to drift into a dreamless sleep...  
  
_Flashing lights swirled around him and the world beneath his feet seemed to have stopped. A disturbing feeling crawled up his arms and legs, like an invisible enemy that clawed its way inside his chest, making him unable to breath, tearing up his insides and putting him back together in a new and confusing way until everything he believed to know about himself was destroyed. Putting his hands over his eyes he opened his mouth to scream and beg for it to stop and realized that not a single sound was leaving his throat. Shocked and frightened he scratched his fingernails over his skin in a desperate attempt to make it stop. B_ _loody and b_ _right red marks all over his arms and legs were burning and deepening and as he felt the ground beneath his feet vanish, he fell back into pitch black_ _darkness_ _. And the bright flashing lights were there again, chasing him down. Laying on his side on an unidentifiable and cold surface, the tingling and crawling came back. Horrified he had to watch as long, hairy legs broke through his skin, the bloody scratches on his_ _limbs_ _opened up and spiders of all kinds and colours appeared and webbed him up until everything he could see was a blinding white. His voiceless, pained cries_ _for his fathers to help him_ _echoed unheard in his own head..._  
  
Panting, Peter jerked awake, panic-stricken he kicked his sheets off the bed and found himself hanging from the ceiling on his fingertips and toes. Every breath he took burned in his throat like liquid fire and he felt cold sweat running down his spine. As if to chase away the remnants of his nightmare he violently shook his head and blinked rapidly. The images of spiders breaking through his skin were still so fresh in front of his inner eyes that he thought he might vomit. The minutes passed and Peter tried to get his breathing and his hammering heartbeat back under control. Slowly he managed to climb down from the ceiling, but his fluttering nerves hadn't calmed down in the slightest bit. He sat back on his bed and leaned back against the headboard. Carding through his sweat-wet hair, he realized how hard he was still shaking. Again, he closed his eyes. He was so, so tired. Everything hurt. His head was pounding.  
  
Ten days ago his life had changed completely. Thinking back, he remembered the moment as if it had happened just a minute ago. His class had gone on a field trip. They had visited Oscorp, the business rival of his father's company, Stark Industries. His Dad had been against “visiting the enemy”, as he had called it. He should have listened to him. He had come back home that day with a burning fever, a sick stomach, a pounding head and an angry looking red spider bite. Assuming it was an allergic reaction, Pops had asked Uncle Bruce to check up on him. Not finding what was causing him his sudden sickness, his Uncle had taken his blood and vanished to his lab for the night. The chaos the next morning was something to boast, when Peter had walked into the kitchen with a bunch of new abilites, perfect health and over-the-top senses. Bruce had been delighted to examine his new abilities, Aunt Tasha had thrown a knife at him to test his reflexes, Uncle Thor and Uncle Clint joked endlessly about it. On the other hand, his Pops had fainted and his Dad had almost had a heart attack. Though, taking into consideration that none of them could be called normal as well, they adapted pretty fast after the initial shock of now having a super-powerd, 15 year old teenager in the house. They had even offered him training sessions, to help him adjust to this new situation. Peter was thankful and glad that his family was this supportive - even though his fathers both morphed into huge mother hens.  
  
But now he was sitting at almost 3am on his bed with a monster of a headache, plagued by nightmares full of spiders the fifth night in a row and tried to wrap his head around the chaotic future that was most likely to come. He couldn't sleep. No matter what kind of sleeping position he tried, no matter what he ate before going to bed. Nothing had helped until now. The spiders came back as well as the lights, chasing him down into darkness where pain and loneliness awaited him...  
  
He jolted awake, panting and gasping for air. He had only been asleep for around fifteen minutes according to his night stand clock. Pulling up his knees he wrapped his arms around his legs and buried his head to muffle his frightened sobs, as lonely tears ran down his hot and flustered cheeks. It took Peter some more minutes than he wanted to admit to himself, to regain control over his stirred up emotions. What really shook him out of his mental breakdown was the faint knocking on his bedroom door. Tentatively his father opened the door. His sleep-mussed hair was sticking up in weird angles, his pyjama pants shuffled on the floor as they were clearly Steve's and his frowning face was faintly illuminated by the familiar blue glow of the arc reactor in his chest.

“Peter? Why are you awake, buddy?” He asked with a soft undertone to his voice, while he crossed the room and sat down on the bed, beside his son.

“Sorry, Dad. I hope I didn't wake you.” He answered, dodging the direct question. Sniffling he rubbed his hand over his puffy eyes, in a futile attempt to hide his tears.

“Don't worry, you didn't wake me. I was just getting something to drink.” Softly he brushed the sweaty brown strands from his sons forehead and the boy leaned into the loving touch. Some heartbeats passed while Tony was studying Peters face, before he broke the comfortable silence. “Can't sleep, huh?”

“No.” Peter quietly admitted. “Every time I fall asleep, I can see them. And it's so dark. All the time, it's so dark. I can even see them when the lights are out and I'm still awake. They're chasing me and everything hurts. But I can't make it stop and when I want to call out to you or Pops to help me, I can't speak. Nothing. As if I'm suddenly mute.” With every word his voice had become more and more quiet until only whispering remained. Another tear was rolling down his cheek.

His father hummed in understanding. “I know that feeling, you know?” He started. “Nightmares. I had them for weeks after Loki's attack. I couldn't sleep. I was not sleeping for a whole week if that meant that I'd be able to avoid them.” Peter watched his father. “You were barely seven when that happened, you probably can't remember much. I was a pain in the ass. Sleep deprived. Bad-tempered. Unfair. I made mistakes at work, hurt myself and became even more obnoxious because of it. Your Pops was the one who had to put up with me the most. I am thankful to no end, that he didn't abandon me during that time.” A genuine but sad smile appeared on his fathers face at the memory.

“Pops would never leave you, Dad. He loves you.” He assured his father and held tightly to the hand that was still petting his hair.

“I know. And I love him. More than I would ever be able to express.” Another smile played on his lips. His brown eyes faintly glittered blue with the glowing reactor. “And we love you, Peter. You know that. We would never walk away, no matter what happens, we will always be there if you need us.” He pulled his son to his side and hugged him tightly to his chest.

Peter held on tightly to his fathers shoulders, buried his head in the crook of his neck and felt the cool metal against his skin as the light of the arc reactor was swallowed whole between them. Carefully they broke apart. Tony was looking down at his son and lovingly rubbed his back in a soothing manner.

“Do you want to come and sleep in our bed? I banned Steve from red wine so he doesn't snore anymore, I promise.”

Peter couldn't stifle a snort at that comment, then he looked up to his father. “I'm too old to sleep in your bed, Dad. I haven't done that since I was like eleven, or something like that.”

“Does it matter? You'll always be our little boy, even if you turn 50, get wrinkles and grey hair, just like me.” He playfully ran a hand through his now slightly salt-n-pepper coloured hair. “Also it won't be all that dark in our room.” He tapped at the glowing circle in his chest.

Peter chewed on his bottom lip for a few heartbeats. The reactor had been his night light when he was younger and couldn't find peace at night. A lot of memories were connected with the glowing peace of high advanced technology.

“Are you sure? I don't want to wake Pops.” Peter lamely argued.

“Don't worry. Your father sleeps like a bear in hibernation.” Tony chuckled at his own joke, stood up and pulled Peter up with him.

Together they walked down the hallway, that JARVIS lit up for them, until they reached the bedroom of his parents. As soon as they had silently closed the door after them, Steve shifted beneath the sheets, sensing their presence.

“Tony, you awake?” Came the muffled question.

“Go back to sleep, sweet cheeks. I've got a visitor.”

Peter followed his Dad to the bed, already feeling guilty because they did in fact wake his Pops. Laying down between his parents, Peter felt like a little boy all over again.

“Peter? What's wrong? Are you hurt?” Sounding worried, Steve threw his blanket over his son, tucking him in.

“Nightmares.” Peter whispered. He felt the warmth and comfort seep into his bones. “I can't sleep.”

“Oh, no. Just stay here for the night. If you want to we can talk about it in the morning, alright?” He asked. Peter felt the all too familiar weight of both his fathers strong arms over his body.

“Yeah, okay. Thanks.” He agreed. The rustling of the sheets around him became quieter. The scenery was faintly illuminated by the blue glow emitting from Tony's chest. It was a comfortable silence, only disturbed by their even breathing. “Dad? Pops? I love you.”

“We love you too, Peter.” His Pops said and his Dad pressed a kiss to his head.

His parents hugged him tightly between them and for the first time in what felt like weeks, Peter was able to fall asleep peaceful, surrounded and protected by his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know if you liked it or if you found any spelling mistakes as english is not my mother language!  
> Kudos and comments are life. <3
> 
> Thank you for sticking around!


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